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Abstract

BackgroundResearch on the effects of physical exercise on canine body composition is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a physical exercise programme on bodyweight, body condition score (BCS) and chest, abdominal and thigh circumferences in dogs. Twenty-one healthy dogs of different breeds exercised together with their owners during an eight-week programme consisting of jogging and strength exercises. Standardised measurements were performed in triplicates with a measuring tape on standing dogs. Chest circumference was measured at three anatomical locations, abdomen at two and thigh at one. Data on bodyweight, BCS (9-point scale) and circumferences were analysed with mixed model repeated measures analyses to evaluate changes after the programme and effects of target distance.ResultsSeven dog owners choose a target distance of 2 km and 14 owners choose 5-10 km. Mean BCS decreased (P = 0.007) after the programme (5.1 +/- 0.9 vs. 4.7 +/- 0.6) but there was no effect of target distance. Almost all chest and abdominal circumference measurements decreased (P

Keywords

BCS; Body condition score assessment; Canine; Morphometric measurements; Morphometric ratios; Obesity; Overweight; Physical activity

Published in

BMC Veterinary Research
2024, volume: 20, number: 1, article number: 299
Publisher: BMC

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Clinical Science

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-024-04135-3

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/131414